MDA-supported scientists in France have identified a previously unknown type of muscle stem cell located in the spaces between muscle fibers in mice. They say the new cells, dubbed "PICs," may play at least as important a role in muscle regeneration and repair as satellite cells, which have been recognized as stemlike cells in muscle since the 1960s. As such, they could have implications for treatment of muscular dystrophies.

A small, orally administered molecule designed to increase production of the muscle protein utrophin, is being tested in healthy volunteers, according to its developer, BioMarin Pharmaceutical of Novato, Calif.

The rare condition thyrotoxic hypokalemic periodic paralysis, or TPP, causes people with normal muscle strength to experience episodes of paralysis and weakness. Until recently, TPP was known to be associated with attacks of high thyroid hormone secretion (thyrotoxicosis), but new information shows that in some cases the condition also has a genetic component -- mutations in a newly identified potassium channel that helps control the flow of potassium ions into and out of muscle fibers.

On Jan. 28, a CBS special will help raise awareness of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease) by describing how a Colorado man is making the most of his life while battling the deadly disease.

There’s often quite a gap between the time when parents first have worries about their infant or child and when they finally learn the child has a neuromuscular disease.

The National Task Force for the Early Identification of Childhood Neuromuscular Disorders is conducting a survey to learn more about parents' first concerns about their children and how they described those concerns to their health care providers, as part of an effort to reduce the time it takes for families to get an accurate diagnosis of neuromuscular disorders.